A chop suey of presidentiables

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

The run for the presidency is now becoming a comedy of sorts – like mixed chop suey, with ingredients thrown in one at a time.
    We have a boxer, actor- “healer,” former general, and now, a billionaire pastor in a free-for-all set for the May elections “thrilla” next year. More are due to follow and slug it out in the political ring, like a former presidential son, an NGO worker, and a coup plotter.
    Latest to throw his hat into the melee is billionaire pastor Apollo Quiboloy who said he will join the presidential derby if he finds nobody among the current crop of aspirants “credible.”
    His self-perception, our neighborhood perennially drunk philosopher says, is way up high among the clouds.
    Our philosopher says maybe, the pastor, who had volunteered to fly President Duterte from Manila to Davao if ever he wanted to go home during the early part of the latter’s term, had gotten used to being near the heavenly clouds all the time, and is getting tired of spewing sermons among his flock.   
    Yours Truly cannot imagine a Quiboloy presidency, he says. But in this Banana Republic, anything can happen. Black magic had been the fare over the years. And Smartmagic is still with us. Now, a growing number of bewitched constituents are pressing for manual vote-counting in the May elections next year.
    Vice President Leni Robredo is forging an alliance with other sectors for a broad opposition coalition in the 2022 national elections, according to a report by development journalist Ana Catalina Paje.
    Paje said the Liberal Party granted Robredo “full authority and discretion” in assembling a united national slate on Sept. 27.
    This, as reports said Robredo emerged as the top choice of opposition coalition 1Sambayan to be its standard-bearer in 2022, while former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV was the top pick for vice president.
    This was based on an internal survey conducted by the coalition from Sept. 12 to 25, sources said Wednesday night.
    The survey listed five names for president: Robredo, Trillanes, Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, Senators Manny Pacquiao, and Panfilo Lacson.
    Robredo got the highest votes with 44,000, followed by Moreno with 40, 275, Trillanes with 38, 197, Pacquiao with 9, 211, and Lacson with 4,049.
    The results of the survey were reportedly presented during the coalition’s general assembly on Tuesday.
    Another source confirmed Robredo topping the list though he said he did not see the actual votes.
    While he was not the top choice for president, Trillanes led the same survey for vice president with 46,310 votes.
Other names listed as vice presidential bets were Sen. Grace Poe, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, and former Senator Bam Aquino.
    Closely following Trillanes in the vice presidential survey was Poe with 40, 056, Aquino with 19, 855, and Sotto with 16, 391.
    Of the four, only Sotto has formally declared his vice presidential candidacy.
    Trillanes also topped the senatorial survey conducted by the coalition.
    There have been speculations that Robredo will run for president in 2022, although she hinted she may run for local office instead, and may even retire from politics entirely.
    Robredo has reportedly been trying to reach an agreement with “opposition” forces, despite the fact that people she has previously spoken with — Senators  Lacson and Pacquiao, as well as Domagoso —have openly declared their candidacy for the 2022 presidential election.
    Robredo previously said that she was not giving up since there is still time to unify before Oct. 8, the deadline for filing certificates of candidacy with the Commission on Elections.
    It would be interesting to know who she will take in as her running mate if she would vie for the presidency.
    Trillanes IV is the logical choice as he, like Robredo, can be considered true oppositionists, according to political observers.
    But then, Trillianes announced on Sept. 25 that he will give Robredo until the last day of registering for the certificate of candidacy before launching his own presidential campaign.
    Trillanes' earlier vowed to make way for Robredo if she decides to run for president in the 2022 elections.
    “But if she still can’t make a decision by 12 noon of October 8, I will continue to run as President. We will not allow the real opposition to be defeated without even fighting,” Trillanes said in a statement.
    Two more presidential aspirants tossed their names in the hat for the presidential race last week.
    Moreno, who calls himself "the healing president" will be running alongside Willie Ong, a physician who amassed a huge following on social media for his public health advocacy, as well as, free counseling, and health recommendations.
    Both will be “healers,” whatever it means.
    Pacquiao and Moreno will also be running against Lacson who was the first to announce his presidential bid on Sept. 8.
    Lacson and Sotto, another “actor,” who is running as vice president, launched their campaign in a 30-minute taped program that aired earlier on major networks and several social media platforms.
    President Duterte officially announced his vice presidential bid on Sept. 8 in Pampanga. Without naming Sen. Christopher   “Bong” Go as his running mate, the president described him as coming from the wealthy Tesoro family in Zamboanga.
    Like magic, presidential daughter Sara could take the place of either Go or the father and the two could disappear into thin air. But then, with the ICC hot on the trail of the Davao hotshot, that maybe far-fetched. He has to have “political immunity,” our philosopher says.
    Go had reiterated his unwillingness to run for president, while urging the PDP-Laban to choose a candidate who genuinely wants to run and can follow in the footsteps of Duterte.
    Another rumored presidential candidate, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., was endorsed by the Kilusang     Bagong Lipunan (KBL) as its standard-bearer in the 2022 elections on Sept. 24.
    There have been talks that the son of the late dictator President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., will seek higher office in the upcoming elections, although he has yet to confirm his plans for 2022. Marcos, a member of the Nacionalista Party, said  while he is grateful for their support, he has yet to accept the nomination.
    Our drunken philosopher says if the opposition cannot get their acts together and unify against the administration candidate for the top post, he too, just might run – at the oval of the Benguet State University (BSU).
    He says he cannot also countenance a Quiboloy presidency and be in a dream-like budol-budol trance for another next six years.